Scraping machine for toothbrush blanks and the like



July 21, 1925.

G. E. LJNDGREN SCRAPING MACHINE FOR TOOTHBRUSH BLANKS AND THE LIKE WQMZM X W, M z Q July 21, 1925.

4 G. E. LINDGREN SCRAPING MACHINE FORVTOOTHBRUSH BLANKS AND THE LIKE Filed hflay 18, 1923 4 Shets-Sheet 2 July 21, 1925. 1,546,845

G. E. LINDGREN SCRAPING MACHINE FOR TOOTHBRUSH BLANKS AND THE LIKE Filed May 18, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 .IN vizw'l'n v: Q 2?. 41d WQM ZZ July 21, 1925. I 1,546,845

G. E. LINDGREN SCRAPING MACHINE FOR TOOTH BRUSH BLANKS AND THE LIKE Filed May 18, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet A Patented July 21, 1925.

=ummn STATE-s PAT operas.

GOT'IFRIID n; LINDGREN, or NORT I-I AiMPTON, ivm'ssnonnsn r'rs, swam. BY. Magma ASSIGNMENTS,'TO PRO-PHY-LA.C-TIC :eau'sn CQMPANY, or inoarnnnrirou MAssa cnusnrrs, A CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS.

scaarme maonnin Fen TOOTHBRUSH BLaNKs AND THE LIKE.

Application filed May 18, 1923. Seiiiai'No. 639,991.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gorrrnin E. LIND- Gnnnya citizen of the United'States, residihg at Northampton, inthe county of Hamp shire, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have ihvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Scraping Machinestor Toothbrush" Blanks and the like; of which the following is a'specilication', reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object a machine to remove the Webs or rough places left on the edges of toothbrush blanks made from celliiloid' or similar materials. As is well known to those skilled in the art, a small Web or fin is left on the edge of a tooth brush blank when the same is produced by being pressed between co-operating dies. Heretolore, these fins have been removed from the blanks by the use of butting wheels or the like. This operation being essentially a mahual one has added materially to the cost of manufacture of the finished articles. The particular object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a machine which will perform this operation automatically and in a rapid and e'llicient manner. The machine en'ibodying my invention leaves the edge of thetooth brush blank in finished condition and unlessa very highly polished surface is required makes unnecessary the performance otany hand operation.

p In the drawings I have shown my invention as embodied in a machine for scraping the edges of blanks tortooth brushes which have ah irregular, axially symmetrical outline. It will be understood, however, that the machine embodying my invention is capable of scraping the edges of blanks of other shapes and intended for other uses. Accordingly, I do not limit myself except as stated in the claims.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the. accompanying draw ings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a side elevation of a machine embody ing' my invention.

Fig. 2 isa top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

' 3 is a similar-view oh an enlarged scale of the scrapers and adjacent parts.

F igA is a'plah view of a toothbrushblank to be pei'ated upon by the machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 5 is a trahsvers'e section of the blank ona larger scale showing the fins'whi'c'h are to be removed by the scraper.

Fig. '6 is a section online 6- 6, Fig.3.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7'-7, Fig} 1, showing the construction ohthehoppei.

Fig. 8'is a section on line 8 -8, Fig 1.

Fig. 9 is an endelevation of one of the scrapers.

"Figs. 10; 11 and 12 are diagrams showing the action of the scrapers on the blank at lines 1010, 11--11 and 1212, respective- .ly,'ot' Fig. 3.

13 is a section of a modified form of conveyor for use withniy machinel 1 Fig; 14 is a section on line-14 14, Fig-.13. Referring now to the drawings and par ticularly to Figures 4: and 5,-t'here' is'shown in thesefiguresa toothbrush blank A having on its edge at a and?) fins or webs left on the blank during the process of molding. These websor finsextend all the wayaround the blank and are formed by the surplus material which is forced out of the mold cavity otthe dies and remains between the two adjacent suriace's'ofthe dies. These fins are removed intheniachi'ne embodying any invention by causing the blanks to travel past a series of cooperating scrapers which remove successively portions of the fin.-

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 7,.there is shown at 11 a hopper from which the blanks are fed iiito the machine. This hop per has an upper portion 221 and on the right-handside thereof a canal 23 through which the blanks pass to the conveyor. In practice the operator holds the blanks over toward the right-hand side" of the hopper, keeping the canal tull. At 12 and 13 are shown two sprocket wheels each having twelve faces 0. The sprocket wheel 12 is driven in any sultable manner, as for 1n stance by a belt 14; running over a pulley 15. Gn the two wheels 12 and 13 runs an endlessbelt 21- coinposed-ot hinged links'or blocks 16; each of which is provided with an upwardlyextending r'ib 17 adapted to cooperate with othermembers, which will presently be described, and thus to form the bottom of a groove in which the blanks are supported and travel. Some of the links are provided with an upwardly projecting lug 2 1', any two adjacent lugs on the chain being separated from each other by a distance slightly greater than the length of one blank.

In the preferred form of my invention, I employ for a conveyor an endless chain, but, as will be explained later, other forms of conveyors may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention. The upper run of this chain is supported on guides 25 and 26, (see Figures 6, 7 and 8), so that the blocks 16 of the chain 21 are held in proper relation with the under sides of two side plates 27 and 28. The adjacent edges of the two side plates 27 and 28 are separated from each other by a space sutficient to permit the ribs 17 on the blocks 16 to pass between them, and these edges are rabbeted as shown at (ZcZ to form a groove 29 slightly greater than the width of the blanks to be scraped. This construction provides a groove or channel along which the blanks are carried by the conveyor.

The scrapers are of any desired number, and in the form of machine shown in the drawings are arranged in pairs, designated respectively B-B, C C, DD, EE and FF. The successive pairs of scrapers remove successive portions of fin, as will be later explained.

The scrapers are supported on two plates 30 and 31 which extend upto the edges of the ribs 17 on the conveyor blocks 16. The conveyor channel at this point is formed by a top plate 32 (see Figures 2 3 and 6). This top plate has a channel 33 formed on its under side and is cut away at intervals (see Figure 3) to permit the points of the scrapers to engage the edges of the blanks as they pass.

Each scraper comprises a blade 36 and holder 37, to which the blade is secured, and a rearwardly extending arm 38. The scraper is pivoted (see also Figure 6) on a pin 39, and is held in position by a spring 40, washer 41, and pin 42. The rear end of the arm 38 has secured to it a spring 43, the other end of which is secured to a pin a l stuck in one 01" a. series of holes 1 5 in the side plate 30 or 31. The spring 13 swings the scraper about its pivot and holds the edge of the blade yieldingly against the side of the blank. The tension on the scraper can be varied by putting the pin %1 in a different hole -15.

The cutting edges of the scrapers are slightly twisted as will be clearly seen when the scrapers are viewed endwise (Fig. 9). The cutting edges of the scrapers, with the exception of the scrapers F, F (Fig. 12) are also slightly inclined as viewed sidewise as shown in Figures 10 and 11. The object 01 this arrangement is to give the cutting edge of the scraper the proper relation to the work so that it will cut most effectively. It will be understood'that the scrapers are positioned so that their cutting edges are brought into contact with the work at an effective cutting angle, (see Figs. 2 and 3). The cutting edges of the successive pairs of scrapers are also arranged differently ac cording to the work which the scraper is required to perform. This will be readily understood from the diagrams shown in F igures 10, 11 and 12. Figure 19 shows the position of the cutting edges of the pair of scr pers D-D. These remove the lower edge of the ribs or tins a and Z). F 11 shows the position of the cutting edges of the pair of scrapers E-E. The cutting edges of these scrapers are reversely inclined relative to the scrapers DD and remove the upper edge of the fins. Fig' 12 shows the position or the cutting edges of the pair of scrapers FF. These scrapers have vertical cutting edges and remove the small ridge which is left along the median line after the action oi the scrapers DD and .FE. The cutting edges 01 the scrapers BB and CC are inclined the same as those of the scrapers D-D and EE, respectively, but take a preliminary cut.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the scrapers remove the entire in but do so by removing successive portions of it. It will also be understood that a greater or less number of scrapers may be employed according to the character oi the lin to be removed. It will also be understood that a form may be used in the above described manner for finishing the edge or a toothbrush blank or a similar article, even though there is no lin which requires removal.

The scrapers are so constructed that they are reversible and can be used on either side the machine. This is an advantage because when reversed a new portion of the .utting edge is presented and the work of sharpening is considerably reduced.

In Figures 13 and H, i have shown another form of conveyor which can be used in the machine embodying my invention. in this "form of conveyor the travelling bed is wholly eliminated and instead a succession of pairs of feed wheels 50-51 are employed. Of these pairs of feed wheels the upper one 50 is provided with flanges ;'*'j to prevent the displacement of the toothbrush blank it is fed along, and a yielding surface g, substantially the width of the toothbrush blank. The lower feed wheel 51 is not flanged but has a cooperating yielding surface h, which like the surface g is about the width of the toothbrush blank. In practice these wheels are made of relatively soft rubber, so that they grip the blanks firmly between them.

To further increase the resilient efiiect of the feed wheels, their spindles are journalled in bearings yieldingly mounted in the frame of the machine as indicated at 60. The pairs of feed wheels are placed closely together, the distance between them being considerably less than the length of the blank to be fed, and the scrapers 361 are arranged as closely adjacent to the bite of the feed wheels as possible. This construction is such that the toothbrush blank is always gripped by two pairs of feed wheels, and therefore is held firmly. In practice I find that there is very little tendency for the blanks to veer from a straight line as the scrapers exert a substantially uniform pressure on each side. This feed mechanism is found to be more satisfactory for certain types of blanks, as for instance those which are curved slightly when viewed sidewise. Such blanks tend to tip up and evade the lugs 24 when passing through my preferred form of machine, but will be held firmly and fed positively by the machine embodying this modified form of conveyor.

IV hat I claim is: r

1. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, and a yielding scraping member mounted on a stationary part of the machine and arranged adjacent to the path of movement of the conveyor.

2. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, and oppositely disposed yielding scraping members mounted on a stationary part of the machine and arranged adjacent to the path of movement of the conveyor.

3. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, and oppositely disposed yielding and inclined scraping members mounted on a stationary part of the machine and arranged adjacent to the path of movement of the conveyor and having their scraping edges transverse to the line of movement of the conveyor.

4. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a grooved bed, means for causing tooth brush handles to travel lengthwise in said groove and yielding scrapers arranged adjacent to the path oi? movement oi the conveyor.

5. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, comprising an endless chain and yielding scraping members having their cutting edges arranged at different angles to the work to be operated upon to remove successively different portions of the stock.

6. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, comprising an endless chain and three pair-s of oppositely disposed scraping members arranged adjacent to the path of movement of the conveyor, one pair of scraping members being adapted to remove one corner of the stock to be removed, another pair being adapted to remo' a another corner, and the third pair being adapted to remove the remainiug rib.

7. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, a yielding scraping member arranged with its ends adjacent the conveyor, the edge of the scraping member being twisted to give it an inclination when viewed endwise.

8. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, a yielding scraping member arranged with its ends adjacent the conveyor, the edge of the scraping member being twisted to give it an inclination when viewed endwise, and also being inclined when viewed sidewise.

9. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor and a scraper, said scraper being pivoted to a stationary part of the machine and arranged obliquely to the path of movement of the work on the conveyor, and yielding means adapted to force the edge of the scraper yieldingly toward the work.

10. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor, a scraper pivotally mounted on a stationary part of the machine and arranged obliquely to the line of movement of the work, said scraper being provided with a tail and having a spring acting on said tail tending to hold the cutting edge of the scraper yieldingly against the work 011 the conveyor.

11. In combination, a conveyor comprising an endless chain, ribs on the blocks forming the endless chain, said ribs being adapted to support the work, lugs on said ribs, a top plate having a channel in the under side thereof in which said lugs travel, said top plate being cut away on a side thereof, and a scraper engaging the work on the conveyor through the cut-away por tion of the top plate.

12. In a machine for removing fins or dressing unfinished edges, a conveyor comprising an endless chain, ribs on the blocks composing the endless chain, lugs on some of said blocks, a top plate having a channel in the under side thereof in which said lugs are arranged to travel, said top plate being cut away at intervals on the sides, and a series of scrapers arranged in pairs and engaging the work on the conveyor through the cut-away portions of the top plate, said scrapers being held yieldingly against the work on the conveyor.

In testimony whereof I afiixmy signature.

GOTTFRID E. LINDGREN. 

